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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wax — to grow
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — of water
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. spell — magic
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — in football
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com